Thiruvananthapuram: The first dose of the vaccine against the pandemic disease COVID-19 has been administered to nearly 100 per cent of the eligible population in five out of the 14 districts in Kerala, Health Minister Veena George said on Monday.
While Wayanad has already reached 100 per cent coverage of the eligible population with the first of the mandated two vaccine doses, four other districts, namely Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta, Idukki and Ernakulam are not far behind.
The first dose has been administered to over 90 per cent of the people eligible for vaccination in Kerala, while 99,75,323 persons (37.35 per cent) have been covered by both vaccine doses.
Pointng out that the majority of the people who died due to COVID-19 were those who were unvaccinated, the minister urged all to get vaccinated at the earliest.
When asked why the government was not releasing the Total Positivity Rate (TPR) data with the daily COVID-19 press-release any more, the minister said that according to the experts, the Weekly Infection Population Ratio or WIPR had become the key indicator of virus spread in the state.
Safe practices must still
She also cautioned the public against any laxity in following the safety protocols. "Masks must be worn and social distance must be maintained," the minister said.
She also urged people to avoid public gatherings as far as possible. "Any public event held in the state should conform to the restrictions imposed by the government concerning the number of guests allowed," she added.
The minister said that the government has increased the number of RT-PCR tests as nearly 75 per cent of the people showing up for tests are asymptomatic.
In addition to this, awareness campaigns are also in full swing, she added.
The seroprevalence survey report, which is expected to be released later in the month, will give more clarity on the State’s COVID-19 situation and help the State take future policy decisions, the minister said.
Kerala on Monday reported 15,692 fresh COVID-19 cases and 92 deaths taking the caseload to 45,24,185 and fatalities to 23,683.
The number of people who recovered from the infection since Sunday was 22,223 bringing the total recoveries so far since the outbreak of the pandemic to 43,32,897.
